This is a deeply emotional read, that makes you question if those closest to you can be all they seem. Heartfelt and well written, I really enjoyed it.

When Nathan West’s wife Laura is shot dead in a seamlessly random subway attack, he is left in deep shock, grief-stricken and a newly lone parent without support for his three daughters and himself. He cannot believe that it has happened. First in denial and then raging about the waste and unfairness of the attack, he takes time off work to support Alexis, aged fourteen, Ella aged ten and Ruby, their happy surprise, aged just four. After fifteen years of happy marriage, Nathan begins to realise what a great wife and mother Laura was. He literally cannot cope with all her routines for each of their daughters, he can’t cook and time flies away from him; he feels helpless, totally overwhelmed and full of guilt and awe at Laura’s easy motherhood and what she achieved each day.
With workaholic Nathan full of grief and regret, Alexis full of furious anger and condemnation, Ella compliant, quietly grieving and eating less and less each day and Ruby missing her mother and not understanding why she is not at home as she always has been, the family struggle on. Nathan is flabbergasted to discover that Laura had been keeping a massive secret from him for over a year, but that secret yielded a workplace friend called Maria, a Bosniak who had lived in the USA even longer than she had in Sarajevo, where she lived through the Bosnian war witnessing its atrocities. He seeks her out, desperate to know about Laura’s last few days. He invites Maria into their home to share memories of Laura with his children. He searches his soul, and just before his compassionate leave ends, he invites Maria to be a Nanny for his three girls. Maria is delighted to accept, until eventually further news emerges about Laura’s murder. This is not only the heart breaking story of a family learning to live with their loss, but of a traumatised war refugee finding love and acceptance and finally finding happiness.
These two story threads about the ‘then, and ‘now’ lives of Nathan and Maria are at the heart of this emotional and absorbing novel, told by both Nathan and Maria in alternate chapters in this extraordinary novel. I loved nearly everything about it, apart from just two of the minor characters; Laura’s grasping, manipulative parents. I hated them for their lack of understanding and tact. The storytelling was exquisite, full of understanding and empathy for the crippling pain of grief, guilt and locked away, unimaginable trauma. My favourite characters were the two wonderful storytellers who brought their stories to life and filled me with deep compassion and yet sometimes great sorrow. I loved the unexpected ending which rounded the novel off perfectly. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of the novels I’ve read by Kate Hewitt and was delighted to be given the opportunity to read this one for review. She always meticulously researches the content of each novel, giving it authenticity to add to its engrossing and unique storyboards.
I’d like to thank both NetGalley and the publishers of this book, the wonderful Bookouture, who always seem to cater for my exact choice in literature. I received my copy of ‘No Time to Say Goodbye’ in return for an honest and open review. These are my own opinions without any other influences taken into account. This is it: 4.5* and a richly deserved recommendation that this is women’s literature at its very best.

Nathan West loved his wife Laura with all his heart. But now she’s gone, taken from him in a seemingly random act of violence. Laura was the glue that held their family together. And for Nathan, life without her feels almost meaningless.

As he tries to find hope in the darkness, his three young daughters express their grief in different and challenging ways – with one set on a path of self-destruction that could devastate their family all over again. Desperate to understand his own heartbreak better, he reaches out to others who had known Laura. Including her new friend Maria, whose light and warmth are exactly what their grieving family needs, and who is soon helping out and providing emotional support for them all.

But the picture Maria paints of Laura is unfamiliar to Nathan – of a wife who felt ignored, a mother who felt she couldn’t do enough – and he struggles to reconcile it with his own memories of the woman he loved. Is it possible he didn’t know his wife after all? And can he trust Maria? He can’t escape the feeling that she’s keeping something from him.

Maria is hiding a secret with the power to rock Nathan’s family to its core. Because it is about what happened the day that Laura died…

I really did not want to cry through the whole book. I did half of it. It was just a heartbreaking story. So many reasons I had to to take a break. It was in parts wonderful story.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy

A really good emotional read that I will remember for a long time. Really well written and full of emotion.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Enjoyable read, a bit slow to start but then the interest built to find out who the killer was and what would happen with the family.

Another fantastic read from Kate with a well developed story, I really enjoy her style of writing and have loved all her books. but I think this one is one of my favourites.

It was a great descriptive page turner and I got involved with all the characters and I particularly enjoyed reading about Maria and how the story came together with a satisfactory but sad ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this fantastic book.

This story is about grief and hope. It shows how your life can change in an instant and how hard it is to deal with the shock and aftermath. But it also goes on to show that after grief there can be hope. An excellent, touching story

Nathan is devastated when his wife Laura is killed in an act of violence by a stranger. He is left to look after his three young daughters.
A story of a family coming to terms of the loss of their mother.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

If ever there was a story that reminds you how life can change in an instant, this is it.

Nathan and his daughters lives are turned upside down when his wife, Laura, dies suddenly. It was actually really interesting seeing things from a male perspective in this story. The bread winner, the one who needs to be strong, having to not only deal with his own loss but the grief of his children also. My heart went out to this heart broken family.

The story alternates between Nathan and Maria. Through the death of Laura, it brings both these characters into each others lives. Maria has her own past that she tries to live with every day. I was intrigued to find out more about her and when I did, wow, it’s some powerful stuff.

It was interesting to see how Nathan and his daughters all deal with the loss of a wife and mother. Each one of them going through different stages and emotions. This with the mixture of Maria’s own past, really makes for some emotional reading.

No Time To Say Goodbye is pretty much a wake up call. It makes you think about the ones you love, also making you realise what is important in life. Nathan and Maria’s story offers the reader so much. Whilst in parts it is heart breaking and tender, it also offers up hope and the want of a better life. A story that touched my heart and soul and makes me want to hug my loved ones that little bit tighter.

Was so excited to receive this book as I love Kate Hewitts style of writing and subject matter!
A fantastic read about loss and forgiveness in the most heartbreaking circumstances!
Nathan and Laura live with there three daughters Alexa Ellen and ruby, Nathan working long hours to provide for his family and Laura feeling neglected and unfulfilled ,so she starts volunteering at a refuge without telling her family, this remains a secret until one day she is shot and killed!what then unfolds is a truly heartbreaking but heartfelt read showing how loss and grief can affect people in different ways and the capacity we all have for trust and forgiveness despite what we have been through and not always appreciating others grief or what they have been through! A really good uplifting read with a lovely ending!
Thank you so much net galley for the opportunity to read this great book

I'm so glad that I requested this book, it was heartbreaking and gripping right to the end. I could identify with the loss that all the characters experienced but at least I had the opportunity to say goodbye to my parents. Maria's story was no less harrowing and a good side story to the main one. I would like to thank the publishers and netgalley for letting me have the book to review and the opinions expressed are entirely my own views and are completely unbiased.

Kate Hewitt always writes with a ton of depth and heart and No Time to Say Goodbye is a perfect example of that!

Laura West is the glue that holds her family together. Laura is super busy with getting her three daughters to school and to their extracurricular activities as well as being a loving wife to her workaholic, Nathan! Then in an unthinking and horrific event, Laura is killed! Heartbroken and floundering, Nathan tries to keep all of the pieces of their family intact and not knowing where to look, Nathan finds help in an unexpected place.

Kate Hewitt never disappoints—this storyline was extremely original! My heart went out to the entire cast of characters in this book! I felt like Kate Hewitt stepped out of her box a little bit with this novel and it completely worked! This emotional read tackled many tough subjects that will leave have you thinking and pondering well after you finish! As per usual, I am excited to read anything Kate comes out with next!

No Time To Say Goodbye isn’t my typical read as it is not a romance. However, I read the blurb on #netgalley and was intrigued by the story. In this book, a senseless, allegedly random, murder tears a family apart when Laura, the wife/mother is killed and the family is left reeling. Now Nathan, a mostly absentee father, has to step up to care for his and Laura’s three young girls. Enter Maria, a former refugee, who knew Laura through their volunteer work at a Refugee Center, who somehow becomes an important part of the family...but is she hiding something?
This story is heartbreakingly sad. A story of the loss of a mom to three young girls and how they are grieving. A father who has no clue how to survive his own grief, let alone care for his girls on his own. A woman who finally allows herself to not be lonely and to connect with this grieving family. A story that touches the atrocities that refugees face and their lives after they escape to a better life. It’s a story of death, war and crime. However, this is also a story of family, love, and hope.
As I said previously this isn’t something I typically read but I am so glad I did. The emotions ran the gamut with this one...sadness, grief, anger and hope. It’s a story that will stay with you for a while.
I received an ARC from @netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.